Technology

German Scientists Help Pilots Fly Via Mind Control (Video)

German scientists say they have demonstrated that pilots could be able to fly planes using just their minds.

Researchers at Technische Universität München (TUM) in Germany asked participants to wear caps with dozens of electrodes, which converted brain waves into signals that were processed by a flight simulator. The EEG electrodes translated brain waves into simulator commands using an algorithm developing by TU Berlin scientists, according to Engadget.

All seven participants, even one with no cockpit experience, were able to fly the simulator successfully, without incident.

Head of the EU-funded project “Brainflight” and aerospace engineer Tim Fricke says that average people with no flying experience will not be flying this way any time soon, but the long-term goal of the project is to make flying more accessible to people.

"With brain control, flying, in itself, could become easier,” Fricke said in a statement. “This would reduce the workload of pilots and thereby increase safety. In addition, pilots would have more freedom of movement to manage other manual tasks in the cockpit."